CHICAGO -- Michael Kutza did not build any of the dozens of skyscrapers he can see from his apartment on the top floor of the downtown high rise in which he lives. But what he accomplished as the founder and energetic director of the Chicago International Film Festival has helped shape the cultural landscape of the city and given it a star-studded atmosphere.
Or, to hear him put it, “I magically transformed Chicago into Hollywood for more than 50 years.” That’s the immodest but accurate subtitle of a new book that charts his career. Its title is, simply, “Starstruck.”
The festival he hatched in 1964 brought hundreds of good movies to town, some bad ones too, but also enough stars and directors to wow the populace.
